One Hour Without You
by Books In the Blood
Summary: During an earthquake on a foreign world, Rose and the Doctor get separated. Rose is able to make it back to the TARDIS but the Doctor is no where to be found. She ponders all that the Doctor means to her while she hopes for one long hour that he is still alive.


**Okay this is my first Doctor Who story, so go easy on me. Hope you like this little short fic :)**

One minuet….two minutes…..

_You said you were right behind me…_

3 minuets…..4 minuets…..

_You should have been here by now…_

5 minuets…..6 minuets…

_You made me leave…I'll bloody kill you when you get back here…_

10 minuets…15 minuets…..

_Please just come back….._

Rose slumped against the door of the TARDIS. The adrenaline that she had been feeling from running, a feeling she normally loved, was gone now and it left her feeling drained and empty. The racing heart, the rapid breathing, the impending sense that your life was in danger was gone….she was empty. She was alone.

With nothing else to do she felt the tears coming to her eyes; she tried to keep them inside her eyes but she couldn't. They stared ahead at the TARDIS console but the colors and lights blurred together as the tears made their way over her eyelashes. She shut her eyes and laid her head against her knees as she pulled her legs up to her chest. She felt her chest begin to heave as she began to completely give into her tears; she didn't want to believe that she had given into despair but he wasn't here…he should be here. He had forced her to leave and now they were separated. Today had started out so differently; she actually thought they might be able to go somewhere and just relax. The thought was completely ridiculous now as she wondered whether or not she would even ever see the Doctor again. Letting her mind drift this way only made her crying become more persistent. She had just gotten used to the Doctor again; just got settled in. She had been so worried when he regenerated; worried that he wasn't going to make it. Now that things were going back to normal between them, here she was, once again wondering if he would make it.

Rose forced herself to not look at her watch; no matter what time it was, it was too long to have been waiting for him. That much she knew. Feeling her sobs begin to decrease, she breathed in deeply and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Crying had brought her no relief. She was still consumed with worry and her heart still felt like it was breaking in two. She had been stupid to leave; she thought she'd had no choice, that she was simply doing what the Doctor had asked. But she should have disobeyed; she would rather be with him wherever he was than be here by herself.

….

_The floor of the underground tunnel was shaking so much it was difficult to walk on them. Rocks were chipping off as the earth's rumbling began to become more insistent as the earthquake was gaining speed. They were running forward as fast as they could for the only escape hatch that was still open, though it too would be closing down. Distant screaming from the natives could be heard in the background and the Doctor stopped as they reached the hatch. _

_"This door is going to close in 30 seconds" he said with urgency. "I have to go back and make sure everyone gets out of here safe. You get out this door and you run as fast as you can back to the TARDIS" _

_"What?" Rose asked, her voice rising octaves. "Me leave? What about you? You're just going to get stuck down here?"_

_"I'll find another way out" the Doctor said urgently. "You get yourself out. I'll be right behind you."_

_Rose shook her head violently. "No…..you just said that this is the only escape hatch that you know of" she said _

_"Rose…..it's going to close" the Doctor said directly. _

_"Doctor…..you're crazy if you think I'm leaving you" Rose said looking up at him, his form shaking as the ground under them moved violently. _

_"I'm sorry" The Doctor said, his face falling as he looked at her. _

_"Sorry, for what?" Rose asked in confusion. _

_"This" The Doctor said as he gave Rose a strong push out the door. Within the next second the hatch had closed, leaving Rose on the outside and the Doctor inside. She pounded at the door, cursing and screaming, but it was no use. It was closed and with it was him. _

_The ground was shaking uncontrollably under her feet and she felt her stomach sink. This door was the only one that she knew of; there was no way to get back to him. She did the only thing she could do and ran back on shaky feet to the TARDIS. _

_…_

It was a mistake…..how could she have left him? Rose sat on the floor until her body was sore, staring straight ahead at the TARDIS console, looking at the empty seat. She'd been an idiot; she should have stayed there right where she was. Not that she could have done anything…..he made that impossible.

Rose ventured a look at her watch; 30 minutes. An entire half hour had passed and still no Doctor. She watched the ticking until she couldn't stand it anymore and wrenched her eyes away.

"You can't leave me Doctor…." Rose said out loud, knowing no one could hear her and yet still hoping that somehow he could, that he would come to her. "You promised to show me all of time and space…..we've barley seen any of it yet. You can't leave me when I…"

_Love you…._

Rose didn't think she had anymore tears left in her, but at the thought more tears came. Love….it seemed so binding and scary. She never even thought she was one to fall in love. Why get attached, get tied down? It was better to stay free and open. At least, that's how she had looked at things before the Doctor. But whatever she had with the Doctor was different, different than any relationship she'd ever had. Better. If love wasn't running off with a complete stranger and following him through the universe without a second thought, and yet staying with him when things weren't new anymore, when they got scary and difficult, then she didn't know what love was. If she didn't love him then how could her heart break? For inside her chest felt a great chasm pulling away at the mere thought that she may never see the Doctor again. Never hear his voice, never see that wide smile of his, never feel his arms around her in a warm hug.

Rose chocked a little on the tears as she whipped her eyes again, looking at the watch; 45 minutes. Where was he? Surely the whole universe would break if he…..

Rose stood to her feet and began pacing again; she had to do something. Anything. She couldn't just sit here and think about every terrible possibility. Even if all she could do was walk around the TARDIS console, around and around, then that's what she'd do. Around and around….the walking helped a little. _Count the steps_….one…..two…..three

_Don't think about the Doctor…. _

10….11….12…..

_One step in front of the other, focus on that…_

23….24…25…

_He's fine…..he's always fine…_

39…..40…..41…..

_He's survived a Dalak invasion, psychotic shop dummies, killer game shows…..a little earthquake isn't going to kill him….._

73….74….75…..

_Please just come back….._

99….100….101…

Rose paused when she noticed the Doctor's coat draped across the chair beside the console. She didn't know how she had missed it before; she stopped, taking the long coat in her hands and hugging it to her, pressing her face into it. It smelled like the Doctor…..not a smell she could identify, one she could only describe as nice, safe….

Home…..

Rose ventured a look at her watch again; 1 hour. One whole, bloody hour…..

"You said you were right behind me" Rose said mournfully as she buried her face in his coat. "It's been a whole hour…..you lied…..you weren't right behind me. Where are you….." She squeezed the coat as hard as she could. "You have to be here Doctor…I need you. When people need you, you have to come running, right? Well ,I need you Doctor…..help me…"

Rose kept her head down, fearing the worst. When she heard the door of the TARDIS wrench open she jerked her head up in shock, wondering who could have gotten in.

And there he was….

The Doctor….he was covered in scraps and bruises and he looked a little pale, but otherwise, still him…

Rose dropped the coat and rubbed at her eyes, hope soaring in her; _he's alive, he's well…_

"Rose!" The Doctor said in excitement, rushing over to her, grabbing her arms. "You'll never believe what happened!" he said, his eyes glowing with wide-eyed amusement, like he so often had. His smile didn't waver and so when his eyes suddenly fluttered shut, Rose was taken by surprise. She did her best to break his fall on the way to the ground, though she couldn't catch him completely. He crashed against her arm as she helped him to the ground. Feeling alarm fill her, she checked his pulse before trying to shake him. His eyes fluttered open for a mere second. "Hey…Rose" he said with a trace of a smile, acting like he was delighted to see her before drifting off again.

Rose smiled; he was going to be fine, he was going to be okay. He was just exhausted; she couldn't remember the last time he'd slept actually. "Let's get you to bed, fearless Timelord" she said with a smile.

…

Rose looked down at the Doctor's sleeping form, a smile on her lips. His face was relaxed and his chest was rising and falling in the steady rhythm of someone asleep. She wasn't quite sure how she'd gotten him this far; it was a long haul from the door of the TARDIS back to the Doctor's quarters and he was mostly leaning on her, but somehow she'd managed to get him here, where he had collapsed on the bed immediately.

Rose leaned down and went to untie the Doctor's battered, dirty white Converses and slipped them off. She couldn't do much about his dirty suit but she tried to make him as comfortable as possible. After she had slipped his shoes off, she sat down on the bed on the opposite side of him. Before today, sitting on the Doctor's bed, or even being in his room would seem strange. But after today, after the scare that she had had, she didn't want to leave him for a second.

Rose stared down at the Doctor, at the face that was still so new; he was so different and yet still so much the same. New face, same Doctor. She took in all his features from his tossled, messy hair to his smooth face. His calm sleeping face was marred by scraps to his cheek and forehead; Rose reached out and touched them gently, knowing she'd have to force him to let her clean him up when he woke up.

With the whole ordeal of fearing for his life over, Rose felt suddenly very tired. She knew it might be a little awkward waking up in the morning, but she didn't have any intention of leaving his side tonight. She'd already been separated from him once today; she didn't want to do it again.

In his sleep the Doctor rolled over on his side, his hand falling towards Rose and landing on her own. On a whim, she took his hand in hers; it wasn't like he would know anyway. She thought about her feelings from earlier; about whether or not she loved him. She'd always seen love as something scary and constricting. But with the Doctor it could be different; it would be different, because he was different. She knew she couldn't say anything to him about it, nor did she even want to now. It would be best, and less scary to let it unfold on its own.

But while her Doctor slept, she could admit it, if only for a second. Rose leaned over to the Doctor's ear, kissing it gently before whispering, "I think I'm falling for you Doctor…..don't ever leave me like that again."

Rose scooted so that she could lean down and lay beside the Doctor, not letting go of his hand. It wasn't long before she joined the Doctor in blissful unconsciousness.

_The End _


End file.
